Going to Pink's With Orson Welles

My friend Julia loaned me this book, "Talk to Her," a collection of interviews with artists, musicians and celebrities. There's an amazing brief essay in here in which a guy who worked as Orson Welles' personal assistant for a few years in the late '70s and early '80s recalls their relationship. Highly recommended reading for any fans of Welles or just good stories about Hollywood and filmmaking.

Here's my favorite part. Welles and the narrator are going out for a bite to eat, but Welles unfortunately has no money, his wallet having been stolen from his dressing room at the "Tonight Show" earlier that evening.

"Anyhow, I told him I had 12 dollars and he said, 'Great, let's go to Pink's,' which was a cheap hot dog stand he liked. As we were driving along he suddenly asked me to pull over and said, 'I have an extra pair of pants in the truck and there's probably some money in the pockets.' He found another eight dollars and said, 'Then it's the International House of Pancakes.' We were just about to pull into the parking lot when I suddenly remembered that I'd received my first credit card in the mail that day. He was ecstatic. 'Why didn't you say so!' he said. 'That means it's Don the Beachcomer!,' which was his favorite restaurant. So we went to Don's and when we walked in everyone greeted him, he was shown to his favorite table, and they brought him his gold, engraved chopsticks, which were enshrined in a case in the middle of the room with the chopsticks of other famous people. After he ordered, he said to the waiter, 'My son here would love to have the same thing as me' - he was in a very generous, emotional mood."

The interview with Guy Maddin is really worthwhile as well. But that Welles passage seriously made me well up...I almost need a tissue here...